Thursday, April 30, 2009

Wonderful Spring Beautiful Flowers

The one spot we have some sun is the west side of our house. This rose, can't think of the name right now, was featured in Park Seed Catalog one year and said that it blooms with some shade. Boy, were they right. Not only is it beautiful, it smells like a rose.

Be sure to check out older post for more flowers.
More tomorrow!

Wonderful Spring Beautiful Flowers

When we built our log home we wanted to save as many trees as possible. Trees provide shade,right? Shade gardening was new to me and I had to do a lot of research. Hostas were one of the plants recommended and I fell in love with them.

Wonderful Spring Beautiful Flowers

A hosta that is planted under the Viburnum catches petals.

Wonderful Spring Beautiful Flowers

Our azaleas are having trouble blooming here. Haven't quite figured out the problem. However, when they do bloom they're beautiful. This is a Formosa azalea.
Another beautiful iris
Isn't this beautiful?

Great Spring Wonderful Flowers

These pale purple iris and phlox look so good together

Great Spring Wonderful Flowers

This viburnum is the first thing in our garden that blooms. It starts budding in January and I'm always so afraid that the freezes will kill the buds. But this shrub knows what it's suppose to do.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

House boating in KY

This is the house boat that we rented last week while staying in the Paducah area. We rented from a company named Green Turtle Boat Rentals. The marina is located very close to Patti's a well known restaurant in the area.

The first night we stayed in dock since we were all going into Paducah the next day to see the show. Quite, peaceful, comfortable. One day at the show was enough for the guys so we left them to explore Berkley Lake and the Tennessee River while we went back to the show. While both of the guys are experienced boaters the employees at the marina maneuvered the boat out of the docks into open water. They explored the lake all day and found a beautiful cove for us to anchor for the night. All the nature photos below were taken in that cove.

After Ann and I finished our second day at the show we decided that we had had enough. We wanted to spend the next day on the boat. What a peaceful, restful, calming day we had watching the beauty of nature. Maybe I will Fabricate some of the beauty.

House boating in KY

sunning on the top deck

House boating on the KY


Ann and myself in the kitchen.

House boating in KY


Ann and Tom getting ready for breakfast on the deck.

House boating in KY

Captain Wall at the helm.

House boating in KY


This is the first time ever I have seen an Orchard Oriole.
as far as I know we don't have these in SC.

House boating in KY

We anchored in a cove where Mom and Dad Osprey guarded their baby.

House boating in KY

Blue Herons were every where.

House boating in KY

Turtle just beside our boat.

House boating in KY

I always enjoy seeing the turtles sunning themselves.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

AQS Show in Paducah, KY

What can I say about the show without having photographs to go along with the words? It was a wonderful show, but not the best I've ever seen. I asked myself and my friend Ann, who was with me, why? I believe Ann can up with the answer. There was nothing different. In the past ten years we have seen quilting change so much that we keep expecting wonderful new innovative techniques. I don't think we've seen the end of these but I do think the process is slowing down.

As always I have favorites that the judges pass over. I try to analyze and look close but I have to wonder why one piece was chosen over another. The judge's job is difficult and I know there are many things they look for that I have no idea about. But to my eyes the "impact" is what makes a piece a winner.

One great thing that came out of taking my husband to the show this year. He now understands why I come back with lots of fabric, tools, etc. There is no place in the world, other than maybe Houston, that you can have all these goodies in one place. That is something he can understand. I'm so glad I took him.

Look below for two photos I am able to post.

More tomorrow on our accommodations, a houseboat.

AQS Show

This quilt was done by friend and student Veronica Moriaty. Veronica's quilt certainly held it's own against the other quilts in her category.

Diana's quilt at AQS

A close up of "Square Dance" by Diana Pickens. A shot of the whole quilt is below. Sorry for the quality of the photo. It looks OK small but it's not clear when you click on it for a closer look.

AQS Show

This is my friend Diana Pickens quilt "Square Dance". I stood by while other people were looking it over and heard quite a few positive remarks. But the one I liked best and to me more important than many others was "how did she do that."

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Arrival in Ky.


We arrived at our destination just in time to have dinner at Patti's Restaurant. Patti's is a land mark in the area and a restaurant were everyone wants to eat while visiting the AQS show in Paducah. The food there is great and it is decorated, shall I say, to the nines. A fun place to eat.

Dinner at Patti;s

This doll hangs in the corner of one of the dinning rooms.

Arrival in Ky.

This is the room where we ate dinner.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Headed to Paducah

Tuesday morning my husband and friends Tom and Ann will head to Paducah. The fun thing about this trip, besides the show, is that we are renting a house boat. My husband has never been to Paducah although he goes to many of my shows, and I think he will be blown away. However, the house boat was the big pull for him to go this year. Tom and Ann go every other year and I think Tom enjoys it as much as Ann at least the first time around. I think Kermit and Tom will enjoy the museum and the show and then take to the waters while Ann and I take to the vendors. If I have wireless I will try to BLOG while I'm there otherwise I will hit it hard and fast when I get home.

Proud teacher of an AQS Contestant

Veronica Moriaty started this piece in a class I was teaching at QSC, Quilters of South Carolina retreat. Veronica has been creating art quilts for a few years and only needed a little guidance for the technique. When I teach these classes I always have each student create their own design so that the piece is truly theirs. Occasionally one of the students will want to use one of my patterns, and that's OK but I love for them to create their own. Veronica you did a great job, congratulations and good luck at Paducah.

Proud friend of AQS contestant

Diana Pickens is a friend and fellow member of Focus, an art quilt group in the upstate of SC. Diana is doing some amazing things with stripe fabric. The piecing here is quite complicated. Her quilting "ain't" bad either. Click on the photo to see it up close. Congratulations Diana and good luck.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A Day with Focus

Today my art quilt group, Focus met for our monthly get together. We had several people missing but we always have such a great time. I have featured several of the pieces that were brought today for you to see. As in the past I have forgotten to take photos of my own work but most likely it's somewhere on this BLOG or on my web site. Hope you enjoy!

A Day with Focus


Martine House does the most incredible hand work you have ever seen. Martine is doing a series she has titled "Offerings". These are incredibly designed and executed boxes that she makes to hold jewelry. Jewelry that she makes. Notice the writing at the bottom of this photo. She embroidered this with a find single strand of silk thread.

Check out Martine's BLOG, martinehouse.blogspot.com and www.focusfabricart.com for more of her work.
Diana Pickens does some amazing things with striped fabric. Here she show us four pin-wheel squares that look very different because the stripes are cut on different angles Click on this photo to get a better look. Notice the square in the top left. The dominate light stripe makes a square.

Diana's quilt "Square Dance" will be hanging at the AQS show in Paducah. It is an amazing innovative pieced quilt.

A Day with Focus

Diana is into stripes. She does the most amazing things with stripe fabric.

A Day with Focus

Dixie Haywood is a member of Focus. She is well known for her foundation piecing. When Dixie has fabric left over from a project she cuts it into strips, squares, triangles, etc. Dixie then uses these pieces in what she calls her "Kits". When she needs a baby or comfort quilt she goes to her kits and sews one together. I would love to have one of her kit quilts.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Oconee Station Waterfall Hike

On Sunday afternoon my husband and I decided that we would like to take a hike. We had worked in the garden all day on Saturday and decided that we would like to treat ourselves to a nice walk in the woods. In the Spring we like to hike Oconee Station trail at least once because it had loads of wildflowers. We were a little early this year for a lot of the showy flowers but did find lots of beautiful ones to photograph. The big treat at the end of this hike is the beautiful waterfall. It had lots of water due to the big storm that passed through last week. I have posted lots of photos of flowers so when you get to the end look at past post to see them all.

hike


This is one of my favorites, the nodding trillium.

hike

This is another wildflower that I think I know the name of but could be wrong. I think it is a Bergamot.

hike

I am fascinated by texture and color. This soft moss is the most wonderful color of green and the texture is great. Click on the photo to see it up-close.

hike

This little Flag Iris is out of focus. I have been having trouble with my camera lately so my husband ordered a new one for me this morning. Hopefully it was the camera and not me.

hike

Years ago I was a freelanced writer and photographer. My subjects were things I found interesting. I would then send the idea into a magazine that I thought might find the story interesting and hope they would buy the article. The photo to the left is an idea I never got around to doing. I am fascinated by plants that grow in odd places. This little trillium along with some grass is growing out of a tree stump.

hike


There are a zillion trilliums. This is the Toadshade.

hike

The foam flower is one of my favorite early Spring flowers.

hike

I had to look this one up in my wildflower book. It looks like the Canadian violet. If anyone knows better let me know.

Easter Sunday hike

The small buckeye bush grows in SC. This is the early bloom.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Gardening


Today my husband and I spent the whole day working in our garden. I spent a lot of time weeding and transplanting flowers that had sprung up from seeds. While I was cleaning up the left over leaves out of my lambs ear I thought of a little cement rabbit that I had in another part of my garden. I moved him over to the lambs ear and he looks like he is about to take a bite.

In my experience, I don't think I have ever met a quilter who doesn't like to garden.

Gardening

This photo has two of our son's gifts. Down toward the lake is a purple martin house that he salvaged off the street and in the foreground is a mail box, Aka. garden tool box that he decorated for us.
One of my sons is into folk art. Every year for Christmas he makes us something for our garden. This year we received three of his great birds.

Gardening


Drift wood from Lake Keowee in SC. The spiky green is crocosmea, I don't think I am spelling it right. The green in the foreground is a salvia.

Gardening

From every window in our house, including the loft, we can see a dogwood tree. This one is outside our bedroom.

Gardening

Hosta's located in front garden

Friday, April 10, 2009

High Fiber Meeting

High Fiber, a group of art quilters from Seneca, SC is made up of quilters who are new to art quilting as well as more experienced art quilters. We met yesterday to discuss our project for the month. Stamping. We decided last month that we would use "Fabric Art Workshop" by Susan Stein as a workbook. Below you will see several of the projects that the group produced this month. My camera battery died on me and I wasn't able to get photos of everyone's work. Please take a look and see what this group is doing. Watch next month for projects on painted fusible web. Click on each piece for a closer look.

High Fiber

Beatriz R. combined two techniques she learned this week. Beatriz was in Judy Simmons class on Tuesday learning creative machine applique. She appliqued two leaves with a decorative stitch and added her humming bird with a stamp and other stamp designs to the block.

High Fiber

Heidi W. did not actually stamp this piece, she beat it. Yes! I said beat it. Heidi has done several beautiful small quilts where she takes a real fern, or other natural plants and actually beats the color out of the plant onto her fabric. Heidi has experimented with this technique and I think she knows what she's doing.

High Fiber

Sandy H. had a great idea that combined her stamping design with her passion, sewing. She took an empty thread spool and applied paint to the end and stamped the fabric. Sandy started with a bright blue and continued to get lighter as she continued down the fabric. She decided she didn't like it and pick up a handful of thread scraps and secured them to the top of the fabric. I thought that was a nice touch.

High Fiber

Barbara S. wasn't at the meeting last month and had just gotten the message that we had decided to do stamping as our project for April. She only had stamp ink so she decided to take a leaf stamp and use the ink. Barbara stamped the background and then made five separate mini quilts to attach over the leafs on the background. She then thread painted around the leafs. My apologies to Barbara for the color in this photo. The fabric was a wonderful chartreuse green.